Process of making shoe forms



Dec. 3l, 1929. tW J, DE WITT l,74l,830

PROCESS OF MAKING SHOE FORMS Original Filed April 8, 1926 fr KfW/0672251" Patented Dec. 31, 1929 f UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-ICE WTLLTAM J. DE WITT;l or AT'IEUEN, NEW Yonx, nssmNon To THE sHoE FORM co., ING., or'rpAUBUItN, NEW Yonx, A oonronATIoN or NEW Yom:

' "PROCESS or mamme snoE Forms originalsummationfuea Apri; e, 192e, serial 119.100,66?,[inviami and am;` application and my 27.

l man` sensi' Nanaimo.

` This invention pertains to a\ process y.ofg making hollow forms or `fillers of that type intended forinsertion ina nished.'shfgeftov preserve its lasted shape while on exhlbition I vfthe desired provision `of orduring transportation or storage and the principal object of the present' invention 1s E to provide a novel method of f forming a r hollow form of light Weight and of res'lllent Since forms of this general' type are used to a large extent by travelling salesmen lfor'V preserving the shape vof sample. shoes and o since the persons to whom such sample shoes y are exhibited are highly discriminating and critical and insist upon inspection of the in terior as Wellv as the exterior of the shoe, it is necessary, when usual forms are employed to withdraw the form duringinspection of the shoe. The withdrawal ofV the form permits the shoe upper to collapse, to-some extent at least, so that, atv the very moment ywhen. 'it is most desirablev to have the shoe appear at its best,'its internal support is withdrawn Vand its desirable characteristics may thus to` Y a certain extent disappear. Moreover the repeated withdrawal and reinsertionpf the form tends to stretch the shoe, particularly lwhen the shoe is made of the thinner and iiner materials. In accordance with the pres-v` ent inventionthis difficulty is avoided since the-interior of the lshoeis fully exposedl to view While the form his in position therein.`

Most shoe forms, if hollow,- are provided with an inturned bottom `flange and'vwhen such forms are made of sheet material, mould-L ed to shape, the toe portions of the vflange",

contain plaits or wrinkles which detract from its appearance, increase vthe effective height of the ,form at the toe, and to some extent in'- terfere with its insertion in or withdrawal from the shoe. In accordance withthe present invention this diiiiculty is eliminated and the flange is smooth and devoid of plaits at the toe. v

Oneof the most popular styles ofshoe for womens wear is the strap pump. Hollow vto be set. and secured at any desired position l yor `angle relative to the form proper. material having improvedv structural charao-` fj teristics and functional utility.` The "present" application is a division of my copendinga'p- Ty plication, Serial No. 100,667, iled Aprll 8,

.the form at this point, the means employed being such as readily'to permit the heel portion to be made stift', non-collapsible and subo stantially unyielding if desired.

Y In .the accompanylng drawings, l1 Fig. -1`is a side elevation of@ completed form showing itf just at the completion of the process of -making it; 4 F ig. 2 is a bottom view of the same form;

j Fig. 3 is a top view of the form of Fig.A 1;

, Figa is `an edge elevation of a bridge member or support adapted to be applied vto ,the improved. form; l

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view to large.. scale of the `toe portion of a blank useful in making the form and to Fig.` lvbut provided with a plurality of strap supporting bridge members., v

Fig. 6 is aside elevation of a form similar `v f Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 indicates a blank of sheet material suitable for making the improved form F. This blank iispreferably transparent and preferably of Celluloid or some material having generally r similar characteristics. o For certainuses it mayajbe desirable to employ colored transparent-materlal and in such case I prefer to color theblank just prior to moulding or to color Vthe forms after moulding;

kPreferablythe toe portion 1av of this blank vis provided with a series of notches 2 (Fig. 5)., Blanks of this character mayl readily be out from sheet material by means of a suitable die and after softening in any suitable manner `the blank is moulded by drawing vit `around `a last of substantially the same size and contour as that upon which the shoe wasmade with which the form is to be used. In

my' Patent No. 1,585,284 dated May 18, 1926,

I have disclosed a process and apparatus useful in moulding blanks of sheet Celluloid or similar material to produce shoe forms of the general type to which the present invention relates, and reference may be had to said patent for further details of one desirable process of moulding such forms.

In moulding the form 1t 1s preferredto turn in the lower edge of lthe blank to'provide an inwardly directed bottom flange 3: By

roviding the notches 2 at the toe portion of the blank the flange 3 may be kept smooth and devoid. of plaits or wrinkles at the toe portion. This is very desirable not only from the standpoint of improved appearance, but also since it provides a smooth surface fae1l1- tating the insertion in or Withdrawal of the formbfroin thcshoe and also avoids any 1ncreasc in height of the toe portion of the form vsuch as is occasioned when wrinkles are produced at the forward end of the flange.

The rear ends 5 and 6 of the blank are caused to overlap as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 so that the vheel portion of the form consist-s of two plies, thus reinforcing and strengthening this part of the form. Ord1- narily, these overlapping plies are left unconnected but if the user Wishes a form having an unyielding heel portion, the overlapping plies 5 and 6 may be permanently united by moistenipg their opposed faces with a sultable solvent of Celluloid, for example, acetone, and subjecting them to pressure suilicient to cause the opposed surfaces to adhere 1n te grally. Obviously other modes of securing these parts, for example rivets,.m1ght be employed.

As disclosed in my patent above referred to I prefer to unite the opposite sides of the form at the ball portion by means of a connecting member 7, Whose opposite ends 8 and 9 are secured to the flange 3. Preferably, as disclosed in the aforesaid patent, this connecting member 7 is of ltwo-ply construction and the plies are se arated at opposite ends and straddles over t e edges of the flange 3,-

being united thereto in an integral manner by moistening their opposed surfaces with a Celluloid solvent and keeping them in contact until they are integrally united. Preferably the cone portion 11 of the form, as herein disclosed, is imperforate so as Vto provide a very rigid support for the vamp portion of the shoe upper.

During the process of making sheet celluloid its original rough surface is treated to make it smooth and glossybut in moulding the hollow forms of the present invention this gloss to some extent disappears leaving the surface dull and striated. After the form has been substantially completed I restore the smooth and glossy surface by dipping the form in a solution, preferably consisting of from four to five parts of acetone to one part of alcohol. If it be desired to color the form forms become cloudy or veiled when drying l from the smoothing operation and the desired gloss and transparency can be restored by -immersing the form in a cleaning bath consisting of the vaporof a Celluloid solvent, for example ethyl acetate. A

After the form has been completed to the point thus far disclosed, it is preferably inserted in the shoe with which it is to be used, the upper edge 10u of 'the form as originally made extending up above the upper edge of theshoe upper. The outline of the edge of the shoe upper is now marked upon the surface of the form in any suitable ma'nner, as for example, by means of a knife point, pencil or other marking implement and the form is now removed from the shoe and the projecting edge of the form is trimmed down to the marked line, leaving the upper edge of the form as indicated at 10 in Fig. 1 This trimming may be accomplished by means of suitable shears,a sharp knife or a lining trimming machine, it being obvious of course that other trimming means such for example as disclosed in my application for patent Serial No. 129,769, filed August 17, 1926 may be employed and that if suitable trimming means be selected the trimming may be done without removing the form from the shoe. After trimming, the edge of the form may be buffed, either by the use of sandpaper held in the hand of the operator,A or by means of a suitable bulling machine such as is commonly used in shoe factories for smoothing the bottom of the outer sole of a shoe. After trimming, and whether or not the edge'y has been buffed, the edge may if necessary be finished by rubbing it with a Celluloid solvent, /for example, acetone, which leaves a smoothly rounded polished edge.

The form is now reinserted in the she, if it was removed for trimming, and if the shoe be a strap pump, an arched or U-shaped bridge piece or strap support 12 is positioned in such a manner as to form a support for holding the strap in the normal position of use With'its free end buttoned or otherwise attached to the shoe. y

This bridge or strap support 12 is preferablyof two-ply construction, consisting of two pieces 13 and 14 of sheet material preferably ike that used for making the form proper, these pieces 13 and 14 being united except adjacent to their ends. Preferably this bridge piece 12 is shaped to conform substantially to the edge contour of the strap which it is intended to support, that is to say, if the strap has substantially parallel edges as here shown, the bridge piece Will also have parallel edges and be of substantially the same width; on the other hand, if the strap have its stiHness, trimming the upper edge o ornamental or irregular edges the bridge piece 12 may, if desired, be shaped to correspond. l

The members 13 and 14 forming the bridge piece are suitably bent or arched so as to hold the strap extended in the position in which it would be held by the instep portion of the Wearers foot. Since the end portions of the members 13 and 14 forming the bridge piece are not united, they may be separated as shown in Fig. 4 to provide the spaces l5 and 16 respectively, which are adapted to receive the upper edge portions of the opposite walls ofthe form. The ends of the bridge piece having been straddled over the edges of the form, the bridge piece is moved back and forth, from front to back of the form and angularly, until it assumes the proper posiin position in any suitable manner until the to be placed, smoothing and softenin the trimmed edge by the use of a celluloid so vent, and attaching a bridge member to the upper part of the for 4. That process of preparingshoe forms which comprises as steps, moulding a celluloid blank into a form having toe and heel portions and conforming substantially to the interior of the shoe with which the lform is to be used, overlapping ends of the blank to form the heel portion, trimming the upper edge of the form to correspond substantlally with the edge of the shoe upper and smooth- Signed by me at Auburn, N. Y., this 23rdday of May, 1927.

WILLIAM J. DE WITT.

solvent or cement has set, thus permanently l uniting the bridge piece to the form proper.

Since some pumps ve a plurality of straps, several such brid ieces may be provided. Such an arrangement isshown in Fig. 6 where the form F is shown as provided with two bridge pieces 12 and 12 respectively.

I claim:

1. That process of preparin shoe forms which comprises as steps moul 'ng celluloid to conform substantially to the interior of the shoe with which the form is to be used,

trimming the upper edge of the moulded form substantially to correspond to the edge vof the shoe upper and smoothing the trimmed edge by the use of a celluloid solvent.

V2. That process of making shoe forms which comprises softening a blank of transparent celluloid, moulding the softened blank to conform substantially to the interior of the shoe with which it is to be used, permitting the moulded form to regain its stiffness, inserting it in the shoe, trimming the form to correspond to the contour of the edge of the shoe, and smoothing the trimmed edge of the form by the use of ya celluloid solvent.

3. That process of making shoe forms which comprises preparing a blank of sheet celluloid, softening the blank, moulding the softened blank to 'conform to the inside of a shoe upper, permitting the form to regain the moulded form to correspond to the contour of the upper edge of the shoe in which it is 

